BANGKOK -- What do you do when you are a fledgling fashion designer living a continent away from the centers of haute couture? You try to fashion something out of whatever scraps you can find, as design-school dropout Patipat Chaipukdee did in the bedroom of his family home in Bangkok's working-class Ladprao district.
Starting with the used T-shirts that flood Asia, Patipat sewed on sequins and safety pins to create 30 to 40 one-of-a-kind items a month to sell cheaply at Bangkok's famed Chatuchak Weekend Market. "I would stay up all night," said Patipat, whose nickname is Best. "Just like the [market's] fish noodles, I wanted my clothes to be fresh. And soon, just like the good curry vendors, I was selling out my stock by lunch."
